Liquid alsterene is a high density liquid fuel that was transported aboard Ocean Pioneer tankers during Danger at Ocean Deep.
The fuel caused great problems for the Ocean Pioneer Company after two of their tankers mysteriously exploded in the Mediterranean while carrying the fuel, resulting in the deaths of the first set of crew and the involvement of International Rescue to help the second.
The Mystery of the Radio Interference[]
International Rescue notices significant interference on their radio transmissions while on a mission to save a hospital that had been hit by a typhoon, on the Pacific island of Oahu. Brains travels up to Thunderbird 5 to make a tape of the interference in order to analyse the problem, and on his return to Tracy Island he sets to work in his laboratory.
The Experiment[]
With the help of Tin-Tin, Brains' experiments show that the result of close proximity of a high density liquid fuel (such as alsterene) and a low density substance known as OD-60, produces high impedance waves, which can interrupt and cut off radio communication on a bandwidth for a given distance.
Brains also observed that the contents of the test-tubes reacted further the closer in proximity they became to each other, eventually leading to an explosion. Such a result mirrors the conditions found in the Mediterranean, after dog food manufactures Allpets had dumped a large amount of activated OD-60 into the waters in a hopeful attempt to create a second crop of the fungus.
